[env-trinity] Endangered Species Act protection sought for rare frog in California, Oregon

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20151223/endangered-species-act-protection-sought-for-rare-frog-in-california-oregon


Endangered Species Act protection sought for rare frog in California, Oregon
By Steven Moore, smoore at times-standard.comPOSTED: 12/23/15, 5:57 PM PST | UPDATED: 1 DAY AGO0 COMMENTSConservationists on Wednesday filed a notice of their intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over whether to extend Endangered Species Act protection to the foothill yellow-legged frog, which thrives in North Coast rivers and creeks.The Center for Biological Diversity accuses federal officials of delaying their decision to protect the foothill yellow-legged frog, which has disappeared from more than half its historical streams in California and Oregon.Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate for the center, calls the Smith, Klamath, Trinity and Eel rivers and Redwood Creek “the stronghold for the entire species.”“These frogs have not declined in northwestern California the way they have everywhere else in their range,” Miller said via email. “These stream-dwelling amphibians face a host of threats, including dams and water diversions, logging, mining, livestock grazing, roads, marijuana cultivation, off-road vehicles, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease.”The 1.5- to 3-inch frogs, with distinctive lemon-yellow color under their legs, live in low-elevation streams from the Willamette River basin in Oregon to the San Gabriel River in Los Angeles County. They have disappeared in many areas of Oregon, Southern California, the southern Sierra Nevadas, the central California coast and the San Francisco Bay Area.The center petitioned in July 2012 for protection of the frogs, and in June, U.S. officials made a positive finding on the petition and initiated a status review. In August the Center submitted information on declines of frog populations, demonstrating that the species should be protected.The Fish and Wildlife Service is 2 1/2 years late in making its decision on whether the frog should be protected, Miller said.He said the frog could be helped by better management of dams and flow releases, limited logging along and near streams, restricted cattle grazing in and near frog streams, curtailed mining, restricted off-road vehicle travel, limited pesticide use and the control of invasive bullfrogs, bass and crayfish.Steven Moore can be reached at 707-441-0510.
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